NFL draft season is one big studying session for NFL front offices, coaches and fans alike.

The nearly three-month break between the end of the the NFL season and the draft, which will be hosted in downtown Detroit this year, is a time filled with speculation, research, analysis and hope of how the best college players who are draft eligible can change the direction of a franchise in future seasons.

The Detroit Lions are all too familiar with this process as a frequent member of the top 10 in the draft order for much of the franchise's existence, but the prospect speculation and evaluation, at least on the fan and media side, was delayed this year because of Detroit's run to the NFC championship game.

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Normally, eyes would turn to the upcoming draft far before the season was officially over, but those conversations instead have been saved for February, the latest start yet in recent memory.

But now, the draft cycle is fully underway, with mock drafts flying out left and right. That includes the Free Press' first mock draft from Lions beat writer Dave Birkett, which was released Wednesday. Birkett, a veteran covering the team, gave his preliminary take on what the Lions will do with the No. 29 pick in the first round, having them address the secondary issues by selecting Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

Now, many of you may be asking, "Who is Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and why would the Lions need him?" Here is a quick explainer of the theorized pick and Rakestraw's background, to help you bolster your knowledge of a potential future Lion.

Rakestraw's playing experience

Rakestraw, a native of Duncanville, Texas, west of Dallas, was a three-star recruit in the 2020 class after he helped lead his high school to back-to-back state finals appearances in Texas' conference for the biggest high schools in the state, 6A, and being named 2019 Defensive Player of the Year by the Dallas Morning News. According to his awards article, Rakestraw held zero Power Five offers before his senior season and was told he was too small to attend recruiting camps with his teammates. He put himself on the map as a senior, limiting top receiving recruits such as Rakim Jarrett (No. 2 WR in 2020) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (No. 5 WR) to under 40 yards in their matchups as Duncanville reached the state championship.

His improvement as well as adding weight increased his offer sheet from Power Five schools, including Alabama and Texas, but he ended up enrolling at Missouri and helped change the direction of the program. In the COVID-altered 2020 college football season, Rakestraw started right away for the Tigers as a true freshman and became the first freshman Missouri defensive player to start a season opener since 2017. He appeared in all 10 games that season, posting 24 tackles, one sack, and a team-high six passes broken up.

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He was unable to follow up on that production as a sophomore in 2021 after he tore his ACL in October and ended up exercising his redshirt. He appeared in four games before the injury, finishing with two passes defended and 13 tackles. He returned to his full-time starter role as a redshirt sophomore, appearing in all 13 games in 2022. He recorded the only interception of his college career that season against Abilene Christian, and finished with 35 tackles, 4½ tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.

His redshirt junior season was cut short by injury once again. He appeared in nine games, making eight starts, but missed games throughout the season due to injury. He missed the season finale against Arkansas and the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State and sat out of the Senior Bowl to fully heal his body. He was invited to participate in the NFL Combine Feb. 26-March 4.

Rakestraw highlights

His lack of turnover production could be alarming at first glance, especially considering that Dan Campbell consistently preaches that he wants his defense to be playmakers and for the team to have a positive turnover margin, but when you watch highlights, it is easier to understand why he has a first-round grade. Rakestraw is a fierce hitter who had no problem sticking his nose in to stop the run, and also showed an ability to find himself consistently in a receiver's back pocket to break up a pass.

Why a cornerback?

The answer to this one is very simple: The Lions' pass defense was bad once again. Despite improving marginally from the third-to-last pass defense in 2022, the team still finished 27th in passing yards allowed (247.4 passing yards allowed per game) in 2023. The Lions' offense was still able to outpace other teams, and the Lions had a stingy run and red zone defense to help compensate, but they were still getting torched too often for most fans' liking.

Down the stretch of the season, the Lions gave up over 300 passing yards in the final three weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Against the 49ers, Detroit gave up 258 passing yards, but that included back-breaking plays like a ball bouncing off Kindle Vildor's face into Brandon Aiyuk's hands, turning a seemingly guaranteed turnover into a touchdown during the comeback.

Another reason is that the Lions will need depth in the secondary. Before free agency begins, the Lions have four corners slated to become free agents — Emmanuel Moseley, Vildor, Khalil Dorsey (exclusive rights) and Jerry Jacobs (restricted). Those potential departures paired with the struggles make cornerback an obvious need for a team trying to reach the Super Bowl next year.

As Birkett put it in his mock: "Cornerback is a huge position of need for the Lions, and while they’ll address it on some level in free agency, they need a long-term solution on the outside. Rakestraw doesn’t have huge ball production with one interception in four years, but he’s the type of feisty, physical corner the Lions want on defense."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who is Ennis Rakestraw Jr.? CB could be Detroit Lions target in draft